MuleSoft Joins Linux Foundation Open API Initiative to Accelerate Innovation in API Specifications

SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 20, 2017) - MuleSoft (NYSE: MULE), provider of the leading platform for building application networks, today announced that MuleSoft has joined the Open API Initiative (OAI) guided by the Linux Foundation. In addition, MuleSoft CTO Uri Sarid, creator of the open RESTful API Modeling Language (RAML) for API specification, will participate in the Technical Developer Committee to help steer OAI technologies.

OAI's ability to drive a connected global economy with APIs founded on top of an OpenAPI Specification (OAS) will be enhanced by the addition of MuleSoft. MuleSoft will lend its support and industry expertise to advancing OAI and will demonstrate how API modeling using RAML creates a common foundation to extend the benefits of an API-led approach to the broadest ecosystem. MuleSoft developers will have the benefit of leveraging both OAS and RAML to take full advantage of an API-led connectivity approach.

To enable both scale and interoperability across the API ecosystem as well as modeling capabilities, MuleSoft will open source its new API Modeling Framework (AMF). Up until now, API specifications have been static. AMF gives developers a way to programmatically add new features on top of API specifications. AMF lets developers interact with any API specification, whether it is written in OAS or RAML, in a similar way to how the HTML DOM allows programmatic interaction with an HTML document.

"The OpenAPI Specification (OAS) has become the de facto standard for describing APIs, while RAML enjoys widespread adoption as a standard for modeling APIs. As the API ecosystem extends to the enterprise, our collaboration with the OAI will enable the community to seamlessly layer these two standards, and will promote interoperability and foster closer collaboration," said Uri Sarid, CTO, MuleSoft and creator of the RAML specification. "We are excited to work together within the OAI community to promote the advantages of API specifications, advance the OAS as the ubiquitous standard for describing any practically-RESTful API and continue to advance RAML as the standard domain-specific language (DSL) for modeling such APIs. Additionally, the API Modeling Framework will finally bring the OAS and RAML communities together, enabling developers to enjoy the best of both worlds."

"We're excited to have MuleSoft join the OAI," said Tony Tam, SmartBear's VP of Swagger Products and creator of Swagger, which is the basis of the OpenAPI Specification. "MuleSoft has a long history of defining API specifications with RAML. Our collaboration will help drive the use of APIs in the enterprise. By joining the OAI, MuleSoft is promoting interoperability between RAML and the OAS, which will bring tooling compatibility to both communities."

RAML enables rapid, concise, and iterative API design while promoting consistency and reuse. Led by MuleSoft and the RAML Workgroup, and supported by a wide variety of leading vendors and numerous open source projects, the modeling language has gained a strong community following as well as deep penetration within the enterprise. RAML has been particularly influential in helping organizations achieve large scale digital transformation projects.

"The Linux Foundation is the home to the world's premier open source technologies, connecting tens of thousands of developers, DevOps pros and other technologists," said Mike Woster, COO of The Linux Foundation. "MuleSoft joining OAI is significant for the API community as it moves further upstream and into the enterprise. We're pleased to work with members to continue to grow this vibrant community to support this project's success."

To learn more about MuleSoft's involvement in the Open API Initiative, register for CONNECT at http://connect.mulesoft.com. MuleSoft's chief product officer, Mark Dao, will discuss the benefits of RAML and OAS for modeling and describing APIs during his keynote on Thursday April, 20th at the Marriott Marquis in San Francisco.

About MuleSoft
MuleSoft's mission is to help organizations change and. innovate faster by making it easy to connect the world's applications, data and devices. With its API-led approach to connectivity, MuleSoft's market-leading Anypoint Platform™ is enabling over 1,000 organizations in more than 60 countries to build application networks. For more information, visit https://www.mulesoft.com.

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